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Lebanon's Aoun trounces Christian rivals in poll
Anti-Syrian politician Michel Aoun, who has just returned from exile, scored a stunning victory against rival Christian politicians on Sunday in the most crucial round of Lebanon's parliamentary elections. The former general's surprise win was a major blow to the existing Christian opposition and its hopes of securing strong representation in the new 128-seat parliament and charting a new course away from Syrian influence. Lebanon's highly factionalized elections, held over four weekends ending June 19, are set to usher in an assembly with more legislators opposed to Syria for the first time since the 1975-1990 civil war.
Aoun, who launched a failed "war of liberation" against Syrian forces in Lebanon in 1989, was forced into exile after Syrian forces crushed his revolt in 1990. He spent 14 years in France before returning back in May, two weeks after Syrian troops left. During his exile, he lobbied for international pressure to force Syria out, claiming some credit for a September 2004 U.N. resolution demanding just that. Aoun's supporters say he is untainted by years of corruption under Syrian tutelage since the civil war and accuse the opposition of trying contain his influence. He fell out with other anti-Syrian leaders after returning. "I believe it is a victory because all political forces sided together against us alone," said Aoun, who has campaigned on a platform of reform and vowed to fight corruption. "The opposition has no program, it has nothing." But candidates of the former general looked set to lose to a list backed by Druze chieftain Walid Jumblatt in the mixed Baabda-Aley district, where 11 seats are being contested. Jumblatt's list won all eight seats in his mainly Druze mountain stronghold of Shouf. The son of assassinated former Prime Minister Rafik al-Hariri suffered a setback in Zahle, a mainly Christian constituency in the eastern Bekaa Valley, where he has no traditional base. Aoun has one candidate on the winning list. But another list backed by Saad al-Hariri did win all six seats in another mainly Sunni constituency in the Bekaa. HIZBOLLAH WIN Among those who lost to Aoun was Nassib Lahoud, long touted as the opposition's preferred presidential candidate. Sunday's defeat looked likely to end any presidential aspirations The pro-Syrian Hizbollah guerrilla group and its allies also increased their share in parliament with 10 candidates winning seats in the eastern Baalbek-Hermel district. The alliance now has 34 seats in the 128-member assembly. Hizbollah now has 14 members elected to the new parliament compared to 12 in the outgoing assembly. Jumblatt blasted Aoun, saying he was being used by Syria and its Lebanese allies to divide and weaken the Christians. "We are back to 1976 when the Syrians entered Lebanon with the pretext of protecting the Christians but their first and last intention was to control Lebanon. We went 28 years backwards," he told LBC television. Syrian troops withdrew from Lebanon in April after popular protests sparked by Hariri's death and pressure from the United States and France, which are likely to urge any new government to disarm Hizbollah and implement political and economic reform. More than half of the 1.25 million eligible voters cast ballots. The official results are not due until Monday. International concern over accusations of Syrian intelligence activity in Lebanon cast a shadow over the poll. The United States says it has information about a Syrian hit list of Lebanese leaders, a charge Syria denies. But U.N. chief Kofi Annan decided last week to send a verification team back to Lebanon to check charges that Syrian intelligence agents were still in the country. An envoy, Terje Roed-Larsen, met Syrian President Bashar al-Assad on Sunday. A total of 58 seats were up for grabs on Sunday. Forty-two lawmakers were elected in the first two rounds in Beirut and the south, both of which brought no surprises. Saad al-Hariri won all seats in the mainly Sunni capital, riding a wave of sympathy over his father's February killing, and a joint Hizbollah and Amal list swept the southern Shi'ite heartland. The new parliament is set to decide the fate of pro-Syrian President Emile Lahoud, address the disarming of pro-Syrian Hizbollah, reshape ties with Syria and draft a new election law. |
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